ASCENT OF SAFED:

ASCENT began humbly in 5743/1983 when three young American olim couples became frustrated with not being able to answer the barrage of seekers in the streets of Tsfat, asking "Where can we learn more?" Sure, "barrage of seekers" sounds hard to believe, but that's the kind of place Tsfat is. Jews that are uninterested in or even antagonistic to Judaism often take a completely different attitude when they arrive in Tsfat. Maybe it's the air, or the streets, or the blue, or the history, or all those souls, but all of a sudden people who blitzed through Jerusalem without being aroused want to know about Kabbalah, and then about Judaism in general.

"Get thee to a Yeshiva," is an easy, reflex answer, but most short-term visitors don't have available the kind of time necessary to make yeshiva a realistic option. Nor was "Discovery," "Roots," "Basics," etc. etc. an option, as they didn't even exist yet.

In September 1983 we offered a three-week intensive program, which we advertised all over the world. Four people came. Meanwhile, on each of the three Shabbatot, we had 20-30 extra guests. We never figured out exactly where they came from or how they found out about us, but we certainly got the message: short-term programs for short-time visitors.

The next month, we pasted a funky, oversized, hand-calligraphy (!) poster all over Jerusalem, announcing "Living with the Times–Chassidic style": a seven day seminar to be held in Tsfat the week after Simchas Torah. Nearly fifty people came to study, tour, hike, sing, dance, swim, eat, drink, celebrate Shabbat and just plain hang out with us. It was a great success. We had a good instinct for what had to be done; it wasn't so long ago that "we" used to be "them"! And we had our experience of the summer and all the built-in advantages of Tsfat too. Everyone learned a lot AND had a great time, and ASCENT took off.

The founders themselves did not know where things would lead, but a whole year of working out of our apartments with students sleeping on the floor, rotating kitchens for the meals and using different shuls as classrooms, was draining us of energy and focus. Finally, Rabbi Shaul Leiter announced he would take the plunge and voyage overseas to try to raise funds to rent a building. The rest of us cheered and promptly elected him Executive Director. He proved himself worthy and "Real Beginnings, 5745" (Oct. 1984) opened in our four-apartment courtyard. We stayed there until Summer 1990, when the current building was purchased and opened to visitors and students.

Today, ASCENT owns a 15,000 sq foot property with 85 beds, industrial size kitchen, dining room, three levels of porches with breathtaking views, a synagogue, a garden, a meditation cave, and a Jewish library and multi-media center on premises; and runs comprehensive programs for English, Hebrew and Russian speakers.

A kind of year-round visitors' center, Jewish youth hostel, and religious retreat located in the most picturesque part of the old section of Safed, ASCENT OF SAFED reveals as much of the essence of the Tsfat experience to the visitor as is assimilable. The program includes everything from hikes through a scenic, fruit-tree lined wadi (a dry riverbed) in the Galilee, to genuine Kabbalistic studies and meditation, barbecues, a lively concert and the Safed mystical Shabbat experience, including baking your own challah and enjoying a Shabbat dinner in the home of a local family. And all this for a very low price!

At any given time, you might find a group of a dozen students from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, or a bunch of volunteers from a kibbutz, mixed in with a summer family tour group from a temple in Oregon, plus a newlywed couple from Brazil and a lone searcher from Prague. The warm and friendly staff members are as competent on the trail as they are in the late-hour discussion sessions in the lounge, tea garden and porches.

At least twice a month, visitors to ASCENT participate in special calendar or topical related seminars. They may be taught to make their own Chanukah menorahs and fill them with olive oil from local groves of olive trees, to bake challah for Shabbat and shmurah matzot for Pesach, or set out at 4:30am on Shavuot morning to hear the Ten Commandments read from the oldest Torah scroll in the world that is still in regular use. Unique to Ascent is its "Your Personal Torah Code" combination of software, made available to visitors for free and by mail order for a contribution.

Originally started for English-speaking visitors from abroad, Ascent now presents full programs to the immigrant Russian population in Tsfat and to the resident Hebrew-speaking population from all over the country. Besides English, Hebrew and Russian, seminars have also occasionally been conducted (so far) in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Parsi and Mandarin Chinese! The latest addition is seminars and Shabbatons tailored specially to the needs of Israeli soldiers, at the request of the IDF itself!

Last year, more than 20,000 visitors passed through ASCENT. The likelihood of hearing ASCENT's name mentioned in connection with Tsfat and Israel is not just a coincidence anymore, it's the norm. This year, we are looking forward to welcoming you!